Merit Financial Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Merit Financial Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 33.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 926 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 45,888.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 255,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,205,750,000 after purchasing an additional 255,138 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 212.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 366,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,726,000 after buying an additional 249,533 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 640,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,063,000 after buying an additional 234,439 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,330,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,493,000 after buying an additional 204,715 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 491,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,011,000 after buying an additional 182,889 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

NYSE:ELV opened at $526.96 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $513.54 and its 200 day moving average is $489.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $412.00 and a 12 month high of $542.07. The company has a market capitalization of $122.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.79.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.54 by $0.10. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company had revenue of $42.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 24.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Elevance Health from $574.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Elevance Health from $602.00 to $604.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Elevance Health from $584.00 to $621.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Elevance Health from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $587.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total transaction of $7,531,605.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,791,460.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $376,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,554,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total value of $7,531,605.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,791,460.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Health Benefits, CarelonRx, Carelon Services, and Corporate & Other. It offers a variety of health plans and services to program members; health products; an array of fee-based administrative managed care services; and specialty and other insurance products and services, such as stop loss, dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental health insurance benefits.